A rather shocking development has taken place in Iran.
A borderline insurrection appears to be underway, as citizens have had enough and are now even calling for the death of Khamenei.
As protests have widened, the government is now cracking down, with six reported deaths so far.
We have seen protests in these types of regimes before, and they are usually put down fairly quickly, but this one continues to gather steam.
On Tuesday, it was reported that students from universities around the country were joining the protests, shouting out slogans such as “student, be the voice of your people,” and “death to Islamic Republic.”
This started as an economic protest when the local currency hit a new low, but it quickly grew to the point that business owners are now shutting down their shops to join in.
Over the next 24 hours, the situation became far worse.
By New Year’s Eve, the entire country had pretty much come to a standstill, with the first death being reported. A young volunteer for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was reportedly killed about 250 miles outside of Tehran in Kouhdasht.
Footage started to pop up all over, with the crowds now chanting, "Death to the Dictator," "Proud Arakis, support, support,” "Death to Khamenei!" and "Shame on you, shame on you!"
Security forces started to become more visible, and helicopters were brought in to fly over the protests, likely to try to intimidate the crowd, but it only made them more resolute in their cause.
The worst, however, was about 24 hours away.
On Jan. 1, it was reported that at least six people had been killed, with security forces and the crowd now openly clashing in public.
Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Lorestan province, stated, “The protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures, inflation and currency fluctuations, and are an expression of livelihood concerns.”
Pourali continued, “The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profit-seeking individuals.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that he is willing to negotiate, but there is not much he can do or say that will change the root of the problem, and that is the currency's collapse and frustration with the current governmental structure. This is a powder keg just waiting to go off, and my gut tells me this is likely to result in extreme bloodshed before it is over.
